What is damper?
Damper is a traditional Australian bush bread made from flour, water and salt, sometimes with milk or butter, cooked in the coals of a campfire. It was a staple food for stockmen, swagmen and settlers.
Damper became common in colonial Australia because its ingredients were cheap, easy to carry and did not spoil quickly. Travellers in the bush could make it with little equipment, wrapping the dough and burying it in hot ashes.
Aboriginal people had long made breads from ground seeds of native grasses and plants, cooked in hot coals. These traditions are sometimes also described as damper or seedcake.
How damper is made
Today, damper is usually made with self-raising flour, water or milk and a little butter, shaped into a round loaf and cooked in a camp oven or a regular oven. It is often served with butter and golden syrup, called cocky's joy.
Damper on a stick, where dough is wrapped around a stick and toasted over a fire, is a favourite activity for children at camps and Scout groups.
Damper is closely linked with billy tea and campfire cooking, and it appears in many stories and songs of the Australian bush. Tourist experiences in the outback often include damper cooked by guides.
Did You Know?
Some bush cooks add native ingredients such as wattleseed or lemon myrtle to damper for extra flavour.